Gun bill advances in Vermont House

Members of the House Judiciary Committee get a briefing from Legislative Counsel Erik Fitzpatrick, left, as they consider a gun bill at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Tuesday, April 14, 2015.(Photo: GLENN RUSSELL/FREE PRESS)Buy Photo

MONTPELIER – Gun-rights advocates and state lawmakers nearly found compromise Tuesday over a gun bill winding through the House of Representatives.

But not quite.

Much of the discussion at the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday centered on the process by which a Vermonter could be removed from a federal background-check database. The committee ultimately recommended changes to the bill in a 7-4 vote along party lines.

Under Senate Bill 141, Vermonters deemed in court to be in need of mental health treatment, through criminal proceedings or a civil hospitalization or nonhospitalization order, would be reported to the federal database and prohibited from gun possession.

The bill would require Vermont courts to report these names, but would also create a mechanism by which people could return to court to have gun rights restored.

The committee made two significant changes to the restoration section.

Members removed language that would have required people to wait 18 months after being released from state custody to petition for gun rights in court.

The Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs, one of the strongest critics of the bill, offered to take a neutral stance in connection with this change.

But the sportsmen turned against the bill once again when the committee also raised the standard for proving that a person no longer needs treatment. A last-minute amendment to an amendment changed the standard from "a preponderance of the evidence" to "clear and convincing evidence."

Rep. Willem Jewett, D-Ripton, who proposed the change, said the higher standard would mirror the standards for court-ordered treatment, so that "what gets you in the door can get you out the door."

Gun-rights activists said the language would create an unreachable standard for many people, and Sportsmen's Clubs Vice President Evan Hughes said the group remained "strenuously opposed" to the bill.

Sen. Joe Benning, R-Caledonia and a trial lawyer, supported the bill as it passed the Senate last month. When told of the language change Tuesday after the House committee meeting, Benning said, "In my eyes, 'clear and convincing' is a much higher bar than I believe the Senate intended."

Ann Braden, executive director of Gun Sense Vermont, said the standard was appropriate and the bill overall was strong.

Another major section of the bill would create a new state crime prohibiting a specific set of violent criminals from possessing a gun, similar to a federal law. Violations of this section would be punishable with penalties up to $1,000 and two years in prison.

"I think this bill is unnecessary," said Rep. Vicki Strong, R-Albany, repeating an argument raised throughout the debate that Vermont is among the safest states in the nation.

Rep. Jewett responded that domestic violence tragedies make the bill necessary. Rep. Maxine Grad, D-Moretown and chairwoman of the committee, said the bill could help prevent suicide by firearms and called the bill another tool for law enforcement in gun cases connected to drug trafficking.

The bill is expected to go to the full House for a preliminary vote Thursday.

Contact April Burbank at (802) 660-1863 or aburbank@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AprilBurbank